TY - JOUR
T1 - When non-CSR-themed social media influencers endorse corporate CSR initiatives
T2 - Effects of publics’ perceived influencer characteristics and leadership
AU - Chen, Yi Ru Regina
AU - Hung-Baesecke, Chun Ju Flora
AU - Cheng, Yang
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is funded by the Faculty Research and Professional Development Grant from North Carolina State University, USA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Over the most recent decade, non-CSR-themed social media influencers (SMIs) have played an important role in driving positive outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns on social media, a practice primarily contributed by public relations. Responding to the call to fully exploit SMIs for achieving public relations objectives, the research aimed to search for systematically identifying the most suitable SMIs with whom to collaborate for CSR endorsements. Grounded in social learning theory and the influence framework, this study examined the effects of characteristics and leadership of an SMI who endorses CSR initiatives on generating the supportive behavior towards the initiatives among the corporation’s most influential public on social media, its consumers. Results from a survey of 967 U.S. consumers showed that non-CSR-themed SMI endorsers trigger target consumers’ supportive behavior towards the CSR initiative which they have endorsed when the consumers perceive them as opinion and taste leaders. The SMI endorsers’ trustworthiness, expertise, uniqueness, and (consumer-SMI) congruity constituted their opinion leadership perceived by the consumers while expertise, uniqueness and congruity formed their taste leadership. Opinion and taste leadership fully mediated the effects of trustworthiness, expertise, and uniqueness on consumers’ CSR supportive behavior while partially mediating the impact of congruity on the CSR supportive behavior. The findings shed light on how to select effective SMIs in non-CSR domains to generate consumers’ behavior to support the CSR initiatives.
AB - Over the most recent decade, non-CSR-themed social media influencers (SMIs) have played an important role in driving positive outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns on social media, a practice primarily contributed by public relations. Responding to the call to fully exploit SMIs for achieving public relations objectives, the research aimed to search for systematically identifying the most suitable SMIs with whom to collaborate for CSR endorsements. Grounded in social learning theory and the influence framework, this study examined the effects of characteristics and leadership of an SMI who endorses CSR initiatives on generating the supportive behavior towards the initiatives among the corporation’s most influential public on social media, its consumers. Results from a survey of 967 U.S. consumers showed that non-CSR-themed SMI endorsers trigger target consumers’ supportive behavior towards the CSR initiative which they have endorsed when the consumers perceive them as opinion and taste leaders. The SMI endorsers’ trustworthiness, expertise, uniqueness, and (consumer-SMI) congruity constituted their opinion leadership perceived by the consumers while expertise, uniqueness and congruity formed their taste leadership. Opinion and taste leadership fully mediated the effects of trustworthiness, expertise, and uniqueness on consumers’ CSR supportive behavior while partially mediating the impact of congruity on the CSR supportive behavior. The findings shed light on how to select effective SMIs in non-CSR domains to generate consumers’ behavior to support the CSR initiatives.
KW - Congruity
KW - Consumer behavior
KW - Corporate social responsibility communication
KW - Expertise
KW - Influencer relations and selection
KW - Opinion and taste
KW - Social media
KW - Trustworthiness
KW - Uniqueness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147219456&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102288
DO - 10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102288
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0363-8111
VL - 49
JO - Public Relations Review
JF - Public Relations Review
IS - 1
M1 - 102288
ER -